I Haven't Abandoned This Blog

I would say, it has been a combination of laziness and unease on my part why I have not been writing here regularly. A Christian blog may be one of the most difficult to have because from the beginning for some such a blog is controversial. Doing one was a little contentious even for me because I did not know how well I could pull such a blog off. I did not want a Christian blog that was business as usual the way such blogs can be. I wanted to do something unique and with broad Christian and religious subject matter, but I also wanted what I wrote to be inspiring and accurate. Doctrine is a dirty word for some, but correct Christian doctrine is essential. I know I can have a Christian blog and do it well. There is actually a lot to be written about and shared in my walk as a Christian, and there is also much in the news concerning Christians. There are myriad lessons to be learned and people to be enlightened.

I have another blog which is secular in nature. It has a theme, but I write about a broad range of subjects there, and my secular blog is easier to write without me having the nagging thought, "I hope I don't make mistakes here." In the weeks to come, I hope I can get my enthusiasm up and wrote more about what God is putting on my heart especially about the church in America which is losing more and more members and which has in some cases strayed into apostasy with teachings such as the Gospel of Prosperity which is not the Gospel according to Jesus. I hope to get this blog up and rolling again consistently:)

Unchurched Americans

On Tuesday I discovered The Christian Post newspaper online. I was totally unfamiliar with it until then. Then yesterday I ran across the article "How Do Unchurched Americans View Christianity?. The article immediately got me thinking about my dad who is unchurched and Biblically illiterate. He spends hours and hours watching TV preachers who preach prosperity in many cases. Dad is anti-social, and believes that you don't have to go to church or read the Bible to be a Christian. He can relate to a Christianity that is pseudo-psychology, but he cannot deal with a faith which speaks about loving God, the importance of the Cross, loving people, sacrifice, and suffering. So I do not know about my dad... Mom and I have prayed and prayed, but he has chosen to stagnant in his walk towards Christianity. Ignorance, like many things, is a choice.

The article mentioned I above begins:

In a portrait of the "unchurched" in America, a new study found that most are willing to hear what people have to say about Christianity but a majority also sees the church as a place full of hypocrites.

"A full 72 percent of the people interviewed said they think the church ‘is full of hypocrites,’" said LifeWay Research director Ed Stetzer. "At the... Read the rest here.

Not only is there the crisis of the unchurched in America, but there is the Biblically illiterate. They are not only those who do not set foot in the church, but many who enter the church doors regularly, including some of the ministers, who are also not fully versed in The Bible. This is a crisis that all knowing Christians need to be aware of and try to remedy.

Remember This

In this life so many of us try to get revenge in various ways for hurts and injuries. It is very difficult not to return hurt for hurt or wrong for wrong, but we are expected as Christians to allow God to do His work.

The dialogue below is from the 1959 Academy Award winning movie Ben Hur which I wrote about in an earlier post.

Judah Ben-Hur: I must deal with Messala in my own way.
Balthasar: And your way is to kill him. [pause, Judah looks at Balthasar]
Balthasar: I see this terrible thing in your eyes, Judah Ben-Hur, but no matter what this man has done to you, you have no right to take his life. He will be punished inevitably.
Judah Ben-Hur: I don't believe in miracles.
Balthasar: Your whole life is a miracle! Why will you not accept God's judgement?

Vengeance is God's work and he will deal with those who commit wrongs and injustices. Read about God's revenge on the link Desiring God.

Searching Islam

I am an avid reader. There have been few times when I have started a book and in boredom or perplexity put it aside. I did not do it when I first read The Bible even though the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy can sometimes be a bit tortuous being two books of laws, procedures, and a census penned by Moses. I did place The Quran aside, however, after I had gotten a quarter of the way through it. It was a mistake to do so since I began it last year, and if I had been more tenacious and focused in my reading I would have completed it by now. But just reading the first 25% of The Quran revealed something to me. The book is disjointed and disorganized. There is no logic in its' set up mainly because the book was compiled quickly and without thought by Prophet Muhammad followers after his death. His writings had been just strewn around on camel skins or anything he had happened to come across as writing material.

The Bible is a totally different case of centuries of careful work by scribes and scholars. Even though the 66 books of The Bible were written over a 1500 year period, the entire narrative is organized and flows to a logical conclusion. One theme runs throughout The Bible. God is waiting for His people to turn to Him as their protector and provider and He promises that He will ultimately send His Son to save humankind from itself. Throughout The Bible God silently begs, "Just love Me and depend on me and I will rain down blessings and protection." From the beginnng when Adam and Eve were tricked into sin, God gave the promise of salvation to ALL of humankind. Even today on the final day of 2007, He is still pleading and is holding a promise to a world that is lost and dying. I believe there is going to a castastrophic war between Christianity and Islam in the very near future. All the indiciations are there. Even if a Democrat is elected president of the United States next year, the dangers are still here and eventually horrible things are going to happen.

What is so frighting about Islam is that few, even Muslims, do not know where their religion stands. Some are even smooth westerized outright liars with a hidden agenda, but I believe the majority of Muslims are as baffled by the bloodshed as non Muslims are. Some have the moral stamina to not constantly make up conspiracy theories like comments I saw on a blog the other day saying after the murder of Benazir Bhutto that "I also do not believe Al-Qaeda to be responsible, in fact I do not even think Al-Qaeda even exists." The response by the blog writer was this, " As for Al-Qeada, it's the code word for a covert operation of cover up proportions, utilizing some 'bad' Muslims to give Islam a bad name, and further the 'divide and conquer' philosophy of some known and unknown evil forces who are constantly at war with the good and plenty." If this is the mindset of some "GOOD Muslims or those who don't practice any religion at all anymore" I think there is real cause for concern.

As a Christian I am in a sticky situation facing a Muslim or former Muslim who is lost and searching. All I can do is try to live up to the standards which Jesus Christ set and lived by when He was here on earth. His life was exemplary and unblemished. He died a horrifying and painful death, but He rose and again and lives on. The Bible says He will come again to this earth to reign, and all the signs are falling into place to show that perhaps the time is drawing near when He will appear. Jesus said these words to His followers when they asked about the signs of His return. As you read here, notice that not once does Jesus tell His followers to fight back. He only wants them to face the truth of what is going to happen, and not hide their head in the sand or place a nebula of falsehoods over reality.

Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Matthew 24:4-14)

The best people to get Muslims to see the light are apostates from the faith. In my new Links on Islam I have included three sites by apostates who warn the world and other Muslims of the true meaning of their faith which they think can be summed up as a cult of bondage and death. They are Faith Freedom International, Apostates of Islam, and Islam Watch. They can be clicked here or on the links.

Resolutions and holiday slogans can get a little trivial and over used at times, but I wish for a peaceful New Year and that the hearts of many will see a need for peace change on a personal before it moves to a global level.

In The Weeks To Come

Before listening to Wafa Sultan's video above, read what I have written below. Mrs. Sultan was one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2006.

In the weeks to come, whenever I write here I have decided to discuss what I know and what I am learning about Islam. I have lived in the country of Turkey which is about 98% Muslim, a nation which for close to 2000 years had been inhabited by first Christian Armenians and Assyrians and later Byzantine Greeks. Like most places in that part of world, the Islamic sword came and descended on the necks and lives of the people and they converted or were driven out or killed.

Writing about what I know and is learning is going to be both a catharsis and highly painful because it is rarely a week that passes when I did not hear from someone in Turkey who is either a friend or former student. The man I will probably never see again and whom I love said recently to me that "I am your husband and want you to come back here," is a nominal Muslim Turk. I may never return to Turkey because the climate there is tense, there is no future there just as some of my students has expressed to me. Christian I should never have forgotten these Scriptures from II Corinthians 6:14-17:

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.

Do how think this scripture means to persecute or kill those who are not Christians. I believe when it seems that unbelievers are trying to get you to come over to their way and there is not genuine respect, it is our duty to wave good-bye to them. Some people cannot accept you as you are, but insist on dragging you over to their bad ways. This happens unless you can find a special person who is not a Christian and who has an open mind. I have over the years, but it has not been often. I have Muslim friends, gay friends, and atheist friends. It has worked between us because I nor they try to tell each other what to do or how to live. I was even told by a person I met online that I was creating the "wrong image" by having a Christian blog. I am? Well, I am not into the image business. I am a Christian, and a Romantic as my other blog shows. I write to not grab or seek attention, I do it because writing is like breathing and eating to me. If there is not out right hostility to what one stands for, there is always subtlety when Christians deal with some unbelievers.

Christians are to follow the example of our Lord who loved people, was a giver, but who told a lot of hard truths. Large amounts of what Jesus expressed was not meek and mild in context and nature. Jesus warned His followers that some things He would have to tell them would be painfully hard to stomach. As Christians we cannot straddle the fence; and it is not showing genuine love to not tell the full truth in order to not upset people in the areas where they like to be comforted. We cannot be over here one day and back over in another place the next day. We have to take a stand, whether it costs us friends, family, or our lives.

Over the past few months I have observed myriad behaviors from a lot of people who are Muslims or are what I call "kinda sorta Muslims." Islam looks less and less like a religion of peace when we look at what is happening sometimes daily, but certainly weekly. In less than a month there has been the issue of the teddy bear named Muhammad, week before last Christians in Egypt were attacked, then just Thursday opposition leader and former prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. Still, in the era of political correctness (I once worshipped at this false altar) few want to be seen as bigots. Christians have to ask themselves were the prophets of the Old Testament bigots when they confronted their kings who had gone bad and joined the pagan way? No! They were telling the truth and giving tough love.

I am a pacifist, so imagine how I felt when my country entered two wars. I was sceptical (still is, but not on the same issues) because I saw these wars as once again people of color getting beaten down by arrogant white men. Still as a former Bible college attendee (I quit because the work was too easy) and someone who has read about and observed Islam since 1979 during the Iranian hostage crisis, I knew some things that the average American did not, and I want to and intend to learn more. Knowledge is power and light.

In the last 7 years I have been turned off by the behavior of some Christian evangelicals and a lot of Republicans. I know now that when they did get it right, they were right especially when they said that America has to win these wars now that we are in them. The Christian world was complacent and divided when the Islamic threat began after the 8th century. Latin Christians saw Eastern Christians as strange, effete, heretics. Eastern Christians saw the Latins as uncultured, nasty, stinking, greedy, hypocritical brutes. What I have long known and refused to admit to myself is that the Quran teaches that a Muslim is not required to tell someone who is not a Muslim the truth. There are Muslims who will however, but I have known some whose stories, word, and position will change like the wind. Dealing with them makes one think you have memory loss or is losing your mind, 'But you said?' I would think. Also there are some who say that they practice no religion, but who are like the devout 9/11 hijackers who went to a strip club the night before they took and flew those planes. I have met Muslims who eat pork. It seems to be a chameleon religion which changes like the wind.

I want to emphasize here again, I am not writing this to inspire hate or fear. My situation has been very unique because each time I went to work in Turkey, there were plenty of people who were afraid for me and saw all Muslims as blood thirsty killers, but I went anyway to teach English only, never to convert because that was not my mission. To have experienced what I have has been a great gift because God has put me in a position to educate people and share what I know. Americans are new kids on the block in dealing with this religion. Europe is not, having for centuries dealt with the Ottoman Turks who were, until the advent of the Turkish republic, the defenders of the Islamic faith. When I first visited Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, we were shown a room where one of the prophet Muhammad's swords were kept on display.

I feel such sadness for my friends who are Muslims and may not know the truth or cannot reveal it about their religion. I doubt that many have ever read the Quran like I have read all of the Bible. I have read a great deal of the Quran, and over the next year I hope to find time to continue examining it. Most Muslims have never read the Hadith which are stories by followers of the prophet Muhammad concerning him. Many Muslims are sweet, decent people who would give you the shirt off their back, but do not know. They just do not know. But there is a monsterous and a smooth deceptive element in Islam too. The smooth deceptive ones are more dangerous than the openly violent ones, because it becomes impossible to understand where they really stand.

I want to say that the first thing is to compare and contrast the lives of Jesus and Muhammad. There is very much contrast, but very little to compare. Jesus was the Prince of Peace and was always on the move during his ministry to aide the sick, poor, and the physically and spiritually dying. He never lifted a sword. He is not a dead prophet, but continues to live. To be a Christian you must believe He lives, and not try and use scientific and intellectual arguments to figure out if He does. Do so, and you set yourself up for failure. Also if Islam is a peaceful religion, why is it that every week there is some outrage? The inhabitants of Islamic countries know not to make too many waves, they know prison, the bullet, or the bomb quickly awaits them if they speak out. It is so sad and tragic.

I am not encouraging hate and fear here, just knowledge and vigilance. Americans are far from perfect and like so many including myself, the government and others wanted to trust some of these people. But a bad element has long terrorized Islamic nations. There are probably millions of Muslims who want to speak out and breathe, but they are in a a position like those Germans under the thumb of the Nazis or whites who lived in the US south during segregation. They know like these people what happens to traitors.

We have short memories in this age, but just recall Salman Rushdie. His plight should be a clue to what is lurking for those who break ranks in Islam.

During These Times Remember This

Jesus Is the Reason For the Season

A movie that really should be shown for the Christmas season but has always been overlooked at that time is Ben Hur.

While I was growing up every Easter The Ten Commandments, another one of my favorite Biblical epics from the latter part of Hollywood's Golden Age, was shown very year. I would eagerly watch the four movie on TV. It wasn't until I was an adult that I saw the 1959 version of Ben Hur for the first time. The is also a 1925 silent version of the film which is also a masterpiece of filmmaking; I have also seen it.

Ben Hur was adapted from the novel Ben Hur: The Tale of The Christ by General Lew Wallace, which I have also read. As a new Christian I watched the 1959 version of the film over and over, and the message of the film became engrained in my thoughts on how a person can overcome impossible odds through the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. Even though Jesus was rarely physically near in the lives of Judah Ben Hur and his family during their darkiest and most tragic times, he was actually working to save them physically and spiritually.

The movie Ben Hur, which stars Charlton Heston, received many Academy Awards and is one of the greatest films of all time begins with the born of Jesus Christ. This is the scene.




At the same time that Jesus Christ, the Peace of Peace, is being born somewhere in Judea another baby is born named Judah Ben Hur. Judah is also a prince, but unlike Jesus who is born in a cave used as a stable, Judah is born into a family of wealth and priviledge. Years later when Judah and his family is betrayed by his childhood best friend the leader of the Roman garrison, Masala, Judah learns fast that his position will not save him from being condemned to be a galley slave and keeping his mother and sister from being confined to the dungeon of the Fortess of Antonia. On his forced trek to the galleys, Judah encounters Jesus for the first time in this powerful scene.



Throughout the four years that Judah survives the galleys, a feat that few could, he vows to get revenge for the destruction of his family. All the time Jesus that is God is working in his life and is keeping him alive, not fate.

Once Judah gets his revenge, he realizes that it is not sweet. He learns that his mother and sister have become lepers and live in a cave with many other lepers in the Valley of the Lepers. One day Judah follows his former slave and the woman he loves Esther to the Valley of the Lepers where she secretly goes to give Judah's mother and sister food. Esther who has often talked to Judah about "the young rabbi" (Jesus) who teaches love and forgiveness has sworn to Judah's mother Miriam and his sister Tirzah that she would never tell Judah that they have survived imprisonment and are now lepers. But Judah finds out and together they all go to find Jesus in the hope that He can save Tirzah who is dying. As it turns out on the day they seek Him out, Jesus is on trial and has been condemned to be crucified. All hope seems to be lost. However, as Jesus is being forced pass them carrying the Cross, Judah's compassionate gesture to the Man who gave him a gourd of water on his march to the galleries and Miriam's, Tirzah's, and Esther's sorrow and shock for the injustice of Jesus' treatment brings about a miracle that can be seen in this clip from the final scene of the movie.



The best version to see Ben Hur in is letter box, so you will not miss anything.

In his death on the Cross, Jesus has the power to change lives. Even though He is not physically with us today, He still has the power to change lives. His life was about loving, giving, and commpassion. His death came about because of jealousy, envy, and the inability of a group of people to face the truth about who He was and what He stood for. But in the end He triumphed because His death was a sacrifice for all humankind to be rescued from the darkness and horror of sin. He is not a prophet as some think, He is the Son of God and He unlike any other prophet still lives.



Jesus IS the reason for the season.